1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for treating periodontal disease by first disinfecting the affected part with a bactericidal disinfectant having food additives as components, and then applying a novel Lactobacillus preparation to the treatment process.
2. Description of the Related Art
Periodontal disease, which is currently said to afflict 80% of adults, is a disease in which the surrounding tissues which support the teeth, namely the gums, cementum, periodontal membrane, alveolar bone and the like, become inflamed and gradually decay, and is caused by bacteria which colonize the periodontium and particular the grooves of the cervical part at the boundary of the teeth and gums by preference to form plaque. These bacteria produce toxins and enzymes which first cause localized inflammation of the gums or in other words gingivitis, and as this progresses gum pockets form in which the plaque grows, leading to onset of periodontal disease. As the symptoms progress, the pockets spread deeper, and inflammation spreads to the roots of the teeth and gradually destroys them so that sooner or later the teeth are lost. More specifically, in the early stages of periodontal disease, the gums of the cervical part to which plaque has adhered become red and swollen, losing their elasticity, and bleeding occurs during brushing. If nothing is done the plaque gradually grows to produce dental calculus which pushes open the cervical part, forming a periodontal pocket. The dental calculus forms a barrier which prevents brushing of the plaque underneath, and as the bacteria become more and more vigorous their toxins enlarge the pocket, inflammation spreads from the gums to the roots and the alveolar bone, where bleeding occurs along with pus leading to a perception of bad breath, and the surrounding teeth gradually become infected. If inflammation of the pocket becomes chronic, the alveolar bone which supports the roots begins to dissolve from the surface, while at the same time the gums become swollen and cannot fully support the teeth, which wobble and feel loose, and along with strong halitosis there is a sensation of pain when biting down hard. If this progresses, most of the alveolar bone dissolves, the roots are exposed, the teeth become more and more shaky so that hard foods cannot be eaten, and finally the teeth fall out one by one. Consequently, even today periodontal disease is recognized by experts as a typical model of a chronic infection which is difficult to cure completely.
The root cause of periodontitis is plaque, which is said to be an aggregation of about 400 different types of bacteria of which Poryphyromonas gingivalis, Prevotella intermedia and Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans are the most pathogenic for periodontitis, although it has been shown that the associated Walinella recta, Bacteroides forsythus, Eikenella corrodens and Fusobacterium and Treponema bacteria and the like are also involved. The primary difficulty in treating periodontal disease is its specificity. Because the teeth are directly connected to the inside of the body, when an inflammatory reaction is severe the body does not try to heal the periodontitis but instead forms a deep groove at the boundary between tooth and gum, breaks down the supporting tissues of the teeth, and in effect sacrifices the teeth to save the body just like a lizard breaking off its tail to survive. In other words, it is not an external enemy that destroys the tissues supporting the teeth, but an inflammation protecting the body from an external enemy. A mechanism operates in which a root which is contaminated by bacterial toxins and enzymes and becomes impregnated with them is not recognized as self by the body, but is removed together with the surrounding tissue as a causal factor. That is, a reaction aimed at healing actually aggravates the periodontal disease. Consequently, once the teeth affected by periodontal disease have all fallen out, the disease ceases and is completely cured.
Other factors include (1) the fact that the oral cavity is a favorable environment for bacterial growth and reproduction and is difficult to keep constantly clean, and bacteria with strong periodontal pathogenicity in particular adhere strongly to the teeth and gums by producing the sticky insoluble polysaccharide such as glucan, fructan etc., which also serves as a barrier to protect the pathogenic bacteria, (2) the fact that the toxins and enzymes produced thereby attack the periodontal tissue surreptitiously, so that the disease progresses with few subjective symptoms, while the appearance of symptoms is not uniform but includes various factors including soiling around the teeth, inflammation reactions, regression and aging of the gums and the like, and gum pockets are unlikely to close once they have formed, leading to repeated reoccurrence when combined with fact (1), (3) the fact that few dentists use suitable drugs for treatment in consultation with a specialist in bacteriology, (4) the fact that both doctors and patients make the easy assumption that in the worst case the teeth can be pulled, and (5) the fact that periodontal disease is not a local condition but a systemic disease which often involves for example diabetes and other endocrine disorders, genetic disorders, stress, osteoporosis, circulatory disorders and the like, and may not be completely curable by symptomatic therapy alone. The reason why it is said that periodontal disease cannot be cured unless therapy is started at an early stage is that it involves so many detrimental factors.
At present the principal form of initial treatment is by scaling and root planing to remove the plaque and dental calculus which nurture periodontal disease. Removal may be relatively easy in the case of supragingival calculus, which adheres to teeth surfaces above the gums, but subgingival calculus which adheres to the surfaces of teeth inside the gums (roots) is dense and hard, blackish-green in color and extremely adhesive, so the bacteria and their toxins cannot be easily removed with simple brushing. Therefore, methods have recently been adopted of efficiently destroying with ultrasound or lasers or dissolving with specialized chemicals. Subsequently a disinfectant or antibiotic is injected and fixed in the periodontal pocket until the site of inflammation heals. However, in cases in which the inflammation site reaches deep and favorable results are not obtained with the aforementioned treatment methods, the inflammation site or site of decay is excised surgically. The gum is then sutured or shaped by the insertion of artificial material. Advanced techniques which have been adopted include surgical techniques in conjunction with GTR (guided tissue regeneration), and to reinforce the surgical site, application of a type of protein called Emdogain® to reproduce an environment similar to the process of tooth development, which is expected to stimulate regeneration of periodontal tissue, but these are not effective in all cases of advanced periodontal disease, limiting their applicability. In any case, the basis of current therapy for periodontal disease is to control inflammation of the gums, arrest the progress of periodontal disease, regenerate lost periodontal tissue, improve external appearance, and maintain the newly-regenerated therapeutic tissue, but as mentioned above there are many systemic risk factor contributing to periodontal disease, so at present unfortunately there are no therapies effective enough to hold great promise, and many dentists feel it is enough if the status quo can be maintained without further deterioration.
Advanced techniques which have been adopted for periodontal disease include surgical techniques in conjunction with GTR (guided tissue regeneration), and to reinforce the surgical site, application of a type of protein called Emdogain® to reproduce an environment similar to the process of tooth development, which is expected to stimulate regeneration of periodontal tissue, but these are not effective in all cases of advanced periodontal disease, limiting their applicability. Therefore, the challenge is to develop methods of completely curing periodontal disease without surgery using drug only therapies which do not place a burden on the patient.